17 Birds That Look Like They Have Hair

Some birds look like they walked straight out of a salon.

You may see a bird with a fluffy topknot, a swept-back crest, a crown of thin feathers, or long plumes that look almost like hair. Birds do not actually have hair, though. What you are seeing is usually a crest, crown, plume, or group of specialized feathers.

Some birds can raise these feathers when they are excited, nervous, displaying to a mate, or warning another bird. Others carry their unusual “hairstyle” all the time.

Here are 17 birds that look like they have hair, along with what makes each one so unusual.

1. Victoria Crowned Pigeon

The Victoria Crowned Pigeon has one of the most hair-like crests of any bird.

Its head is topped with a large blue crown made from thin feathers that spread outward like lace. Each feather has a small pale tip, giving the crest a delicate, almost decorative look.

This species is also one of the largest pigeons in the world.

You can recognize it by:

Blue-gray body feathers
Deep reddish-purple chest
Large lace-like crest
Red eyes
Heavy pigeon-shaped body

The crest stays visible even when the bird is relaxed, so the Victoria Crowned Pigeon always looks like it has an elaborate hairstyle.

2. Eurasian Hoopoe

The Hoopoe has one of the easiest crests to recognize.

Most of the time, its crest lies partly folded along the head. When raised, the long orange feathers open into a large fan with black tips.

The result looks almost like a punk-style hairstyle.

Hoopoes may raise the crest when landing, displaying, or reacting to something nearby.

Look for:

Orange-brown body
Black-and-white wings
Long curved bill
Large fan-shaped crest
Black tips on the crest feathers

The combination of its curved bill and dramatic crest makes the Hoopoe hard to confuse with another bird.

3. Grey Crowned Crane

The Grey Crowned Crane looks as though it has a golden crown growing from the top of its head.

The crown is actually made of long, stiff feathers that spread outward in every direction.

From a distance, those feathers can look like fine golden hair.

Grey Crowned Cranes also have:

Gray bodies
White wings
Red throat pouches
Black-and-white facial markings
Long legs

Unlike a soft fluffy crest, the crane’s crown has a thin, spiky look that forms a halo around the head.

4. Crested Duck

The Crested Duck is a domestic duck known for its unusual head tuft.

Some individuals have a large rounded group of feathers on the back of the head, making the duck look as if it is wearing a fluffy hat.

The crest can vary greatly in size.

Some birds have only a small tuft, while others have a large round feather ball.

Crested Ducks may come in:

White
Black
Gray
Mixed colors
Other domestic color patterns

The fluffy head feathers are what make them immediately different from most other ducks.

5. Palm Cockatoo

The Palm Cockatoo looks almost entirely dark, including its long dramatic crest.

Its black head feathers can rise upward and backward, creating a wild hairstyle.

The bird also has a large black bill and a bright red cheek patch.

You can recognize it by:

Black or dark gray plumage
Tall black crest
Huge curved bill
Red facial patch
Large body

The combination of the tall crest and heavy bill gives the Palm Cockatoo a powerful appearance.

6. Crested Pigeon

The Crested Pigeon has a narrow black crest sticking almost straight upward.

Unlike the broad crown of the Victoria Crowned Pigeon, this crest consists of only a few long pointed feathers.

The bird itself is much smaller.

Other features include:

Gray-brown body
Pinkish chest
Dark wing markings
Red-orange eye
Thin upright crest

It is a good example of how even a small group of feathers can completely change a bird’s appearance.

7. White crested Laughingthrush

The White-crested Laughingthrush has thick white feathers swept backward over its head.

The crest begins above the bill and extends toward the back, creating a fluffy hairstyle.

The white head contrasts strongly with its darker body.

Look for:

Bright white crest
Dark eye area
Brown body
Long tail
Strong legs

Groups of these birds can be noisy and active, which makes the dramatic white crest even easier to notice.

8. Bare faced Go away bird

The Bare-faced Go-away-bird has long gray crest feathers that can stand upright or lean backward.

The loose shape gives the bird a slightly messy-haired appearance.

Its name comes from its loud calls rather than its crest.

It has:

Gray plumage
Long tail
Tall head crest
Bare facial skin
Strong curved bill

The uneven crest makes it look less polished than many other crested birds, which is part of its unusual charm.

9. Royal Flycatcher

The Royal Flycatcher may have the biggest surprise hairstyle on this list.

Most of the time, its crest is folded flat and barely visible.

When opened, however, the bird reveals a large fan-shaped crown. Depending on the sex and species, the crest may contain red, orange, yellow, black, and blue markings.

The bird may display its crest during:

Courtship
Territorial encounters
Handling
Stress
Close interactions with another bird

With the crest closed, it looks like a fairly ordinary flycatcher.

With the crest open, it looks completely different.

10. Polish Chicken

Few birds fit the phrase “bird with hair” better than the Polish Chicken.

Instead of a small crest, this domestic chicken breed has a huge ball of feathers growing from the top of its head. In some birds, the feathers fall around the face and partially cover the eyes.

Different varieties can have white, black, silver, golden, or mixed-color crests.

The crest can look like:

A fluffy afro
A rounded wig
Messy bangs
A feather pom-pom
A large soft topknot

Because the feathers can block vision, Polish Chickens may sometimes seem more easily startled than chickens with clear eyesight.

11. Crested Partridge

Male Crested Partridges have a bright red crest standing upright on top of the head.

The crest is short but thick enough to resemble styled hair.

Males also have dark bodies and bright red facial skin, while females look much browner and do not have the same bold crest.

Look for:

Bright red crest on males
Dark blue-black male plumage
Red facial skin
Small rounded body
Short tail

The bird is sometimes called the roul-roul.

12. Red whiskered Bulbul

The Red-whiskered Bulbul has a neat black crest pointing upward from its head.

Rather than looking fluffy, the crest resembles short spiked hair.

The bird also has small red patches behind the eyes, which give it its “red-whiskered” name.

Identification features include:

Tall black crest
White cheeks
Red facial patch
White chest
Brown back
Red area below the tail

The crest gives this small songbird a tidy but slightly rebellious look.

13. Great Crested Grebe

The Great Crested Grebe changes appearance during breeding season.

Adults develop dark feathers on top of the head and large chestnut-and-black feather fans along the sides of the face.

These feathers give the bird a much fuller, more dramatic hairstyle.

Breeding adults have:

Dark double head crest
Chestnut facial feathers
White throat
Long narrow neck
Pointed bill

Outside breeding season, the head feathers become much less noticeable.

14. Northern Lapwing

The Northern Lapwing has a very different kind of “hair.”

A long, narrow black crest curves backward from its head. On some birds, it looks almost like a single long strand of hair.

The rest of the bird has:

Dark greenish upperparts
White belly
Dark chest
Broad rounded wings
Short bill

Its crest is thin and flexible rather than fluffy.

That simple feature gives the lapwing one of the most recognizable profiles among shorebirds.

15. Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo

The Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo has one of the most colorful crests among parrots.

Its body is mostly pale pink and white, while the crest contains bands of red, yellow, and white.

When fully opened, the crest forms a wide fan above the head.

The feathers look almost like a colorful mohawk.

You can recognize this bird by:

Pale pink face and chest
White wings
Bright striped crest
Strong hooked bill
Stocky parrot shape

Even with the crest folded down, the pink coloring makes this cockatoo easy to recognize.

16. Secretarybird

The Secretarybird does not have a traditional crest.

Instead, several long black feathers extend from the back of its head. These loose feathers can look like long strands of hair sticking out behind the bird.

The species gets even more attention because of its unusual body shape.

It has:

Long crane-like legs
Eagle-like head
Gray body
Black wing feathers
Long head plumes

When the wind moves the head feathers, they can look surprisingly hair-like.

17. Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Scientific name: Cacatua galerita

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo looks like it has a bright yellow hairstyle hidden on top of its head.

Most of the time, the crest lies folded backward. When the bird becomes alert, excited, curious, or defensive, it can raise the feathers into a tall yellow fan.

Its white body makes the yellow crest even easier to notice.

You can recognize it by:

Mostly white plumage
Bright yellow head crest
Dark gray or black bill
Yellow coloring under the wings and tail
Strong curved feet

The raised crest can look like a swept-up mohawk. It is also part of the bird’s body language, so the position of the feathers can change depending on its mood.

18. Hoatzin

Scientific name: Opisthocomus hoazin

The Hoatzin has a messy crest that looks like spiky brown hair.

Long, narrow feathers rise from the top of the head and point backward, giving the bird an untidy hairstyle even when it is resting.

The crest is only one reason the Hoatzin looks unusual.

Other identification features include:

Long pointed head feathers
Blue bare skin around the face
Red eyes
Reddish-brown body
Long broad tail
Large rounded wings

Hoatzins live around wetlands, rivers, and flooded forests in northern South America.

Their permanent spiky crest makes them one of the better wild examples of a bird that looks like it has naturally messy hair.

19. Himalayan Monal

Scientific name: Lophophorus impejanus

The male Himalayan Monal has a long metallic crest that can look like several strands of shiny hair standing above its head.

Its crest is not fluffy. Instead, it is made from narrow feathers with bright green and blue tones.

The rest of the male is just as colorful.

Look for:

Metallic green head
Long upright crest
Blue and purple upperparts
Copper-colored neck and back
Bright white patch near the tail
Strong pheasant-like body

Females are mostly brown and heavily patterned, helping them blend into mountain habitats.

The male’s thin crest gives the Himalayan Monal a very different hairstyle from fluffy birds such as the Polish Chicken.

20. Ornate Hawk-Eagle

Scientific name: Spizaetus ornatus

The Ornate Hawk-Eagle has a long black crest that rises from the back of its head like a single dramatic lock of hair.

When the crest is raised, it gives this forest raptor a much more striking profile.

Adults also have bold facial and body markings.

Key features include:

Long black head crest
Dark crown
Chestnut-colored sides of the head and neck
White chest with dark barring
Broad wings
Long banded tail
Powerful hooked bill

Ornate Hawk-Eagles live in tropical forests from southern Mexico through Central America and into much of South America.

Unlike birds with rounded fluffy crests, this species has a narrow pointed crest that looks more like a feather ponytail or swept-back hairstyle.

FAQs

What bird looks like it has hair?

The Polish Chicken is one of the clearest examples because it has a large fluffy crest covering much of its head. Victoria Crowned Pigeons, Grey Crowned Cranes, and White-crested Laughingthrushes also have hair-like feathers.

What bird has crazy hair?

Polish Chickens, Royal Flycatchers, Hoopoes, and Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos are known for unusual head feathers that can look like wild hairstyles.

What bird has fluffy hair on its head?

The Polish Chicken and Crested Duck both have rounded groups of soft feathers that can look like fluffy hair.

What bird has a mohawk?

Hoopoes, Palm Cockatoos, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, and Red-whiskered Bulbuls can all have head feathers that resemble a mohawk.

What bird has long hair on its head?

Secretarybirds have long black feathers extending behind the head, while Northern Lapwings have a long thin crest that curves backward.

Do birds have fur or hair?

No. Birds have feathers rather than fur or true hair. Some feathers are thin, soft, long, or fluffy enough to look hair-like.

Why do cockatoos raise their head feathers?

Cockatoos use their crests as part of communication. A raised crest can appear when a bird is excited, curious, alert, frightened, or interacting with another bird.

Which bird has the biggest crest?

Several species have very large crests, but the Victoria Crowned Pigeon, Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo, Polish Chicken, and Royal Flycatcher are among the most eye-catching examples.